It’s NOT a county, it’s a a self-governing British Crown dependency, you scream.
I beg to differ;
It’s a GBG county, it really is.
Best approached from Heysham, since Liverpool is out of bounds.
Oh, sorry, the Isle of Man doesn’t want your plague either at the moment.
Shame, because it really is one of the most beautiful places on earth.
Honest. The Calf of Man alone is worth your trip.
And the pubs. Proper Pubs. Proper People. Proper Pumps. Proper beards.
There’s a real community focus. Nine charity boxes here, a UK record.
And the beer’s dead cheap, so it sells quick.
One of the best Chinese takeaways in the UK (I went twice) and those Queenies you love;
Plenty of good B&Bs in Douglas, but Bleak House in Ramsey looks “exciting”.
They speak a funny language here, which meant their translation of the Cult’s “She Sells Sanctuary” in Quid’s Inn is a bit “literal”.
And there’s some TERRIBLE puns..
But that’s a small price to pay to experience some of the best pubs anywhere.
Looks like a place that I’d like to go.
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Anyone would. Just make sure
A. You can get there.
B. You can get back.
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I think there might be a correlation between the number of collecting tins begging for people’s spare cash and the number of tax dodgers living there who begrudge paying for public services.
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I don’t know who you could possibly be referring to, Matthew !
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Aren’t collection tins like cask ale? Should there ever be more than two or three?
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All the “FSFO” graffiti a while ago reminds me that the tax dodgers living there weren’t welcome.
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It’s almost central location within the British Isles (Ireland will soon be afforded its own post Brexit a GBG area) and excellent network of boat to launch yourself from, must make the Isle of Man a top consideration for the house move. Get in there quick before all the pub tickers start retiring there.
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Will be only GBG chapter without Covid, soon.
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George MacDonald Fraser retired there.
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That reminds me. Winter’s coming (not THAT winter – aka Game of Thrones).
Time to re-read my dozen or so Flashman books. 🙂
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Should I watch Game of Thrones, anyone?
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I must say I enjoyed reading GOT, Couldn’t get on with the series; as someone said, it’s like watching LOTR, breaking every 20 minutes or so for 5 minutes of porn
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They made the TV series into a book ? Wow !
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The Isle of Man is indeed a wonderful place with some of the best pubs I’ve ever been to. AND they have a beer purity law like in That Germany. AND they’ve got the right idea about the Plague, pubs, restaurants and shops all open, masks only if you want etc but 14 days quarantine on entry. We could do the same here in the Greater Shetlandic Archipelago, but Nippy won’t let us.
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There’s some excellent people on Man.
It helps if you like Okells, which I do 😉
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There’s plenty of Okells in Liverpool nowadays.
And the Hooded Ram in Wolverhampton.
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I think the Wolves Hooded Ram closed a couple of years back, sadly. The food was good but they weren’t selling much beer.
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I didn’t know the Hooded Ram had closed.
The blame probably lies with customers like myself who only went there once or twice and then only had a pint without any of the “good” food.- and it must have struggled competing with the Great Western’s pork baps and the curry house ‘Curry Charles’ took us to two years ago.
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Someone mentioned it on this blog last year. Not sure what took its place.
Their beer was superb in the Isle of Man, where their own bar also shut.
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Well, so far so good.
We’ve had no one asking to bring back the birch with caps locked.
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It’s only a matter of time, Etu!
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The Manxman shown in the poster ended up lying derelict at Sunderland for years, until she was cut up in 2012.
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Love the detail, EP.
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After a spell in Preston docks. Although I think the poster depicts her prewar predecessor of the same name – the later one only had a single funnel.
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Even more detail!Love it.
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Now you’re taking the piss…how the hell am I going to get a narrowboat to the Isle of Man? Lol!!
I’ve never been, but the pubs sure look to be good…it gives me the impression of being a bit like the ‘Land that Time Forgot’, though!
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“how the hell am I going to get a narrowboat to the Isle of Man?”
You could go by way of the Narrow Sea?
Oh, wait; that’s in Game of Thrones. 😉
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There’s an underwater canal, Pete. It’s starts in New Street Station.
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I went there with my dad in (I think) 1984 and it was certainly the land that time forgot then. Since then it has rather more caught up with the times and also become noticeably more prosperous.
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Yes, Douglas and Castletown in particular have moved with the times. Ramsey is still loveably unchanged but if that means you get pints for £2.70 it’s a price worth paying.
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T’other Mudgie,
Yes, “noticeably more prosperous” than my weeks there in 1980 and 1988.
Tax avoidance in the form of smuggling caused the British crown to acquire the lordship of Mann in 1764,
Nowadays the isle of Man costs the UK about £1½ billion a year and so maybe history will repeat itself especially with our government’s current deficit.
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I thought narrowboats were heavy enough to take a bit of sea?
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“Best approached from Heysham, since Liverpool is out of bounds.”
About time they started working on that bridge then.
“Oh, sorry, the Isle of Man doesn’t want your plague either at the moment.”
I swear it’s a bloody psychosis.
“Proper beards.”
And improper T-shirts! I won’t venture a guess as to what ‘Bushy’s T T’ stands for. 😉
“And the beer’s dead cheap, so it sells quick.”
Hence the charity boxes. That’s where your change goes. 🙂
“but Bleak House in Ramsey looks “exciting”.”
The Nils post thingy. Does that mean no bastards allowed?
“which meant their translation of the Cult’s “She Sells Sanctuary” in Quid’s Inn is a bit “literal”.”
(slow golf clap)
“And there’s some TERRIBLE puns..”
Pfft. That’s terrible? How about the latest… “don’t mask debate” (say it quickly now). 🙂
“But that’s a small price to pay to experience some of the best pubs anywhere.”
There’s always in the hard to reach places.
Cheers
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Oh, Russ 😳
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The Manxies like to call it a kingdom, but I think GBG county fits it better. It is after all a great place for pubs, and the only GBG county for which I’m a compleatist!
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Well done. I still have 3 to do. All reentries
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I lived there for eight months so I really had tick it all before i left. Thought now I think about it my compleatist status has probably lapsed now.
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